The 'I Need a Recipe' Thread

[semicharmed]

No so much a recipe as a substitution question.
I am about to start making green walnut preserves, which I first had in Turkey. The recipe calls for both quicklime and alum. Alum can be omitted, but I don't know what the quicklime is supposed to do, and google isn't helping.

Anyone have any ideas?

[PAstrychef]

The lime maintains the crunch of the walnuts. If you look up pickling lime you should find more information.

[semicharmed]

Thanks! I kept finding "pickling lime" and "slaked lime" and completely missed the part where "quicklime dissolved in water = pickling lime or slaked lime". I'll probably skip it, as the ones I had before weren't crunchy. More... olive-y.

[Ulc]

So, I've decided to try something on this Friday - since I don't like experimenting alone, a good friend is coming for dinner, good cheese and a awful lot of white wine.

I want to try to take a risotto with beans, and I turn to the forum for wisdom. I generally try to go for a simple risotto, since I think that one of the great things is that you can taste each ingredient in a wonderful combination.

Pinto or kidney beans? I'm thinking pinto
What other vegetables?

Right off the bat, I'd think that

Red peberfruit
Dried Chanterelle
Onion

And as minor ingredients
Garlic & cumin

Might work out, does anyone have better suggestions?

Most risotto recipes I can find out there is a very long list of ingredients, which I don't think is playing to the strength of the risotto.

[PAstrychef]

I know of risottos made from other grains, but beans need to cook for a lot longer to become tender. Either start with canned beans or be sure to soak them overnight. Or are you planning on adding beans to the rice? Pinto would be nice, but cannelli would work too.
One of the food writers from the NYTimes had a post recently about using less stock in risotto so as to bring the flavor of the rice forward. I like to use some onion and some white wine, and then whatever "flavor" ingredients I'm using go in near the very end.
If you go with the dried mushrooms, soak them in warm water for a while, then strain the liquid through a coffee filter and add it to the risotto to deepen the flavor.

[Ulc]

I know of risottos made from other grains, but beans need to cook for a lot longer to become tender. Either start with canned beans or be sure to soak them overnight. Or are you planning on adding beans to the rice? Pinto would be nice, but cannelli would work too.

I'm going to soak them for at least 8 hours, then cook them roughly half done in a pot - I don't think anything else would work.

[Nath]

Lentils would also work -- a pseudo-khichdi. The pictures in that article are kind of misleading; most of the khichdi I've had has been fairly risotto-like in texture.

[dubsola]

Are the beans a substitute for the rice? If not, I suggest the humble broad bean - it's in season right now and it's quick, easy and super healthy.

I once cooked beetroot in a risotto and it turned an amazing colour. But I don't think it'd go especially well with your mushroom and cumin flavours (I don't think it'd be bad, but it wouldn't be great).

[Ulc]

For the record (since I forgot to report back then), beans in rissotto is not the best thing ever. It was a decent meal, but it wasn't risotto. I'll have to try beetroot though, sounds interesting

Anyway, I'm cooking for some 15 people on Thursday, and I've decided on grilled salmon for the main dish - that's taken care off. And I think a rum cake that's still lukewarm with a scoop of ice cream would go well as a dessert after that.

However, I haven't been able to find a rum cake recipe that I trust - half of them involves "buy cake mix" which is a huge red alarm button for me that makes me instantly mistrust the recipe. Anyone have a good one?

[PAstrychef]

I would make a standard yellow genoise, and a buttercream filling flavored with rum, and a rum simple syrup, then assemble the cake. But I have done this a lot.
You can make a nice yellow cake, epicurious.com has several. You can use whipped cream flavored with rum as a filling.
You make a simple syrup out of equal amounts of water and sugar brought to a boil, and add 2 Tbsp. of rum for every cup of syrup. You sprinkle the syrup on the cake layers before assembling the cake.
Unless you mean a different type of cake altogether, in which case an example would be nice.

[semicharmed]

Turns out that in addition to my raspberry bushes, the cherry tree and my walnut trees, I also have apple trees in a field across from my house. Five minutes of gathering gave me a 10L bucket filled with apples. They're yellow, crisp and tart - although some of the bigger ones are more sweet.

I have canning jars, lids and a sealer as well as a oven, stove and a big store 45 minutes away with all the spices I could want. So, who has apple recipes? Preferably ones that can be put into jars and stored, my freezer isn't big enough to store that much apple bread.

[PAstrychef]

You can store apple slices in a simple syurp, either canned or frozen, and then season them as needed for pies, applesauce, going with roast pork, etc. etc.
Apple butter is nice.

[bigglesworth]

Stew them with some sugar and other fruits, and use the resulting mixture to make crumble.

[RoadieRich]

Anyone got good suggestions for making potatoes more interesting?

[Ulc]

Anyone got good suggestions for making potatoes more interesting?

To start with, bake, never boil.*

Something I like doing is to roast some garlic and onion in butter, pour it over potatoes along with salt and pebber. Then in the oven for slightly more than a hour at, say, 200 degrees.

Other than that, as a general rule. Cut them up a bit, add a bit of fat of your choice - herbs, salt, pepper and you're probably golden if you bake them for a hour or so.

*The only reasonable time to boil potatoes are entirely freshly dug, or if you're making mashed potatoes. All other times I'll just have to question the sanity of anyone boiling potatoes.

[poxic]

Here's an awesome-looking recipe that I haven't managed to try yet.

In fact, that site has lots of potato recipes, some equally awesome-looking as the one above. I am now regretting my mild intolerance for potatoes.

[Cytoplasm]

So, I remember part of the recipe but I cannot access the book it came from:

spaghetti noodles
bacon
crushed red pepper
and egg

All I really remember is that you cook the spaghetti, I think beat the egg and when the spaghetti is done, drain but don't rinse it. Throw the egg in and that is supposed to cook it. Then mix the bacon and crushed red pepper.

I think that's all there is to it. I've been googling for a while to try and find something like it. Bleh.

[RoadieRich]

So, I remember part of the recipe but I cannot access the book it came from:

spaghetti noodles
bacon
crushed red pepper
and egg

All I really remember is that you cook the spaghetti, I think beat the egg and when the spaghetti is done, drain but don't rinse it. Throw the egg in and that is supposed to cook it. Then mix the bacon and crushed red pepper.

I think that's all there is to it. I've been googling for a while to try and find something like it. Bleh.

Sounds like some sort of carbonara.

[PAstrychef]

Yep, that's a carbonara. And it really works. If the pasta is hot from the pot, then tossing the egg with it cooks the egg. Then you add the cooked bacon and onions (in my version) and a shake of pepper flakes.
If you check out carbonara at epicurious.com you will several variations to choose from.

[AngrySquirrel]

Does anyone have a good recipy for aioli?

[PAstrychef]

ingredients
how to make aioli:
Ingredients-
2 garlic cloves
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

preparation

Mince and mash garlic to a paste with a pinch of salt using a large heavy knife. Whisk together yolk, lemon juice, and mustard in a bowl. Combine oils and add, a few drops at a time, to yolk mixture, whisking constantly, until all oil is incorporated and mixture is emulsified. (If mixture separates, stop adding oil and continue whisking until mixture comes together, then resume adding oil.)
Whisk in garlic paste and season with salt and pepper. If aïoli is too thick, whisk in 1 or 2 drops of water. Chill, covered, until ready to use.
This makes about 1/2 cup.

[poxic]

Food processors can do a decent job of the whisking part, if you have one you don't hate. Set it to a constant low-medium whip while drizzling the oil in a thin stream.

I've heard that beating in an extra egg yolk can also help with separation, if things start to look curdled.

[Gear]

*The only reasonable time to boil potatoes are entirely freshly dug, or if you're making mashed potatoes. All other times I'll just have to question the sanity of anyone boiling potatoes.

And even if you are making mashed potatoes, you should boil them, mash them with butter/cream/salt/etc, then bake them.